A Creative Communication blog

Featured Teachers: Joyce Faragasso and Kelly Dilullo

by Creative Communication on August 31, 2017

Joyce Faragasso and Kelly Dilullo collaboratively teach k-12 gifted students in the Interboro School District. Initially, they stumbled upon Creative Communications in an effort to locate academic opportunities for students to shine and showcase their work. However, it has now become a staple in their lesson plans every fall and spring! Each year, students look forward to the form associated with their grade level and competing in the contest.

With the push toward core standards in education, poetry has limited place in the curriculum. In the near future, poetry writing may be a lost art. Kelly and Joyce kick off the school year with poetry writing because it really excites the kids and the interest level is high. When given the opportunity to write various forms of poetry, the students are engaged and motivated because it is different, which makes it fun!

In the spring, the focus in on essay writing. Each grade level is offered a different type of writing and the topics often relate back to the regular education curriculum. This provides the students with a sense of connection and familiarity for the topics. It also allows them to draw on prior information and enrich their knowledge in an area of study. Creating meaningful outlets to write is important in creating motivated writers!

Joyce explains, “In today’s technology driven world, writing is all around us like never before. It is a means for effective communication, collaboration, sharing of ideas, and expressing emotions.” Understanding the necessity of writing, Kelly and Joyce encourage students to write with a purpose, about memories, areas of interest, or future goals. Kelly says, “Whenever you have a child draw on something familiar that they are eager to share, the writing will flow naturally. It is up to the teacher to model the writing process and provide structure for writing.” They get students hooked on writing by allowing them to write freely and experiment with different forms of writing.

​Both teachers share the belief that motivating students to enjoy writing and to become effective writers and communicators is key for life long learners.